Dam forming machine



Dec 23, 1952 o. H. BENNETT 2,622,501

. DAM FORMING MACHINE Filed May 6, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet l Oswald H. Bennett 0 g am/6m. M a Attorneys Dec... 23, 1 952 O. H. BENNETT DAM FORMING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 6, 1947 x// A3 \\\\y//////\\\\\V 6g??? 9 mm a, h s a Q @X 2 mm m mm y .4 2 mm N F V mu w O m kw n E Oswald H. Bennett 2 m w A 1952 o. H. BENNETT DAM FORMING MACHINE 3 Shets-Sheet 5 Filed May 6, 1947 kw mm llllll 5555: mm M55 Inventor Oswald H. Bennett l I Attorneys Patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to new and useful im- Movements and structural refinements in dam forming machines, and the principal object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herein described, which may be conveniently and effectively employed for the formation of soil irrigating ditches and dams, thereby eliminating the conventional tedious practice of performing such work by manual labor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dam forming machine which may be easily adjusted as to the depth of the ditch being formed, as well as to the mutual spacings of the dams.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dam forming machine which is simple in construction, which may be easily and conveniently manipulated, which will not readily become damaged, and which is otherwise well adapted for the purpose for which it is intended.

With the above more important objects in View and such other objects as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the construction and arrangement of parts as shown in the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention, showing the scoop member thereof in the upraised position.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the scoop member per se.

Figure 3 is a side elevational View, similar to that shown in Figure l, but illustrating the scoop member in the lowered or operating position.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 1, and;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the scoop member stop linkage used in the invention.

Like characters of reference are used to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention consists of a dam forming machine designated generally by the reference character H), the same embodying in its construction a suitable frame or shaft ll provided with a pair of traveling wheels 52 and with a caster l3, substantially as shown.

The traveling wheels l2 are disposed adjacent the rear end of the frame H, and the latter is also equipped with a suitable seat M, such as may be conveniently used by the operator of the machine.

A transversely extending rod 15 is rotatably .journaled adjacent the forward end of the frame H, and. a pair of spaced parallel side arms l6 are pivotally mounted at the forward end thereof on this rod, as will be clearly apparent. These side arms constitute what may be referred to as a carrier for a scoop member designated generally by the reference character ll, the structure of which will be presently described.

The scoop member I! includes in its construction a transversely extending shaft I8 rotatably journaled adjacent the rear end of the carrier side arms 16, and a pair of flanged side plates [9 are secured in spaced relation to the shaft, as is best shown in Figure 2. A plurality of earth engaging blades 20 are secured to the plates 19 by means of transversely extending angles 2|, the blades 20 having a concave, disc-like configuration and being disposed in a radially projecting relation with respect to the shaft 18, as will be clearly apparent.

Suitable stiffener 22 may be provided if desired for reinforcing the entire scoop member structure, substantially as shown in Figure 2.

It will be observed that the scoop member IT, as a whole, is rotatably mounted between the carrier arms IS, and means are. provided for preventing the rotation of the member, as will be presently explained. Said means consists of a transversely extending stop bar 23 which is slidably positioned on suitable guides 24 secured to the carrier arms Hi, the bar 23 being operatively connected by means of a pair of links 25 to a pair of cranks 26 secured to the aforementioned rod [5.

The latter also carries a rigidly mounted crank 21 which, in turn, is connected by means of a further link 28 to one arm of a bell crank 29, the latter being pivoted, by virtue of a shaftlike projection 30 with which it is provided, to the frame I I, as is best shown in Figures 1 and 3. The remaining arm of the bell crank 29 is equipped with a foot pedal 31 which is disposed adjacent the operators seat [4.

An additional crank 32 is secured to the rod I5, and a tension spring 33 extends between this crank and a lug 34 provided on the frame ll, whereby the stop bar 23 is normally urged in the direction of the arrow 35 so as to engage the blades 20 of the scoop member H. In this manner, rotation of the scoop member will be normally prevented, but by simply depressing the foot pedal 31, the bar 24 may be disengaged from the blades 29 and rotation of the scoop member will thus be facilitated.

Means are also provided for raising and lowering the scoop member together with the carrier side arms l6 with respect to the frame ll, said means consisting of a pair of lift rods 36 pivoted to suitable brackets 31 provided at the rear end of the arms IS. The rods 36 are operatively connected to suitable cranks 38 which, in turn, are secured to a transversely extending shaft 39. This shaft is rotatably journaled in a pair of spaced supports 40 secured to the frame ll, one of these supports being extended to form what may be referred to as a quadrant 4|. This quadrant facilitates adjustable setting of a control lever 42 which is secured to the shaft 39 and is provided with a suitable release 43 which operatively engages the quadrant 4 I.

It will be found that by simply moving. the lever 42 in the direction of the arrow 44, the scoop member I! may be raised, while lowering the scoop member is accomplished by simply reversing the movement of the lever.

It will be also noted that the rods 36 are provided with rigidly mounted collars 45 and that a pair of compression springs 46 are positioned on the rods between these collars and the cranks 38. By virtue of this arrangement, the scoop I! will be automatically permitted to rise when the blades 20 thereof encounter obstructions in the soil, regardless of the setting of the lever 42. The upper extremities of the rods 36 are screwthreaded toreceive suitable lock nuts 41,-where- .3, and it will be noted that since the stop bar 23 engages one of the blades 20 and thus prevents the scoop member from rotating, the lowermost of the scoop member blades will form what may be referred to as an irrigation ditch 49 in the ground, as the machine continues in its forward movement.

The depth of this ditch may be easily varied by simply adjusting the setting of the lever 42 with respect to the quadrant 4 I as will be clearly understood.

When it is desired to form a dam in theirrigation ditch, it is only necessary todepress the foot pedal 3 I, thereby disengaging the bar 23 from the scoop member I1 and permitting the scoop memher to rotate. ,The footpedal should be instantly invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the. details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to -without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

In a dam forming machine, the combination of a wheeled frame, a carrier pivotally mounted on said frame for rising and falling movement, a rotatable earth engaging member mounted on said carrier and including a plurality of radially projecting blades, a transversely extending stop bar slidable on said carrier toward and away from said earth engaging member and engageable with the blades thereof to prevent rotation of the same, a rotatable shaft extending transversely of said frame, a pair of cranks secured to said shaft, links operatively connecting said cranks to said bar whereby the latter may be slid on said carrier in response to rotation of said shaft, resilient means connected to said shaft for rotating the same to aposition wherein said bar engages said earth engaging member, and a foot pedal pivotally mounted on said frame and operatively connected to said shaft for disengaging said bar from said member against the action of said resilient means.

OSVIALD H. BENNETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,615,902 Foster Feb. 1, 1927 2,066,812 Wilcoxen et al Jan. 5, 1937 2,187,833 Lock Jan. 23, 1940 2,225,258 Dahlman Dec. 17, 1940 2,229,372 Debnam Jan. 21, 1941 2,348,997 Peacock May 16, 1944 

